Spiritual Meditations (10 Nov 2016 NewAgeIslam.Com)

The “Trumps” of the world reveal themselves
in all of their shapes, colors and sizes speaking in different tongues and
raising different faith flags.

They live in packs with their own “kind”
and believe that anybody who does not look like them, share their beliefs or
lead the same way of life should be shunned and ostracized. Ironically, each
group of them is exactly like the others whom they hate the most. Whether men
or women, believers or atheists, bearded or shaven, veiled or half naked,
white, black or any color in between, they all have the same hateful hearts
along with closed ignorant minds. They are most commonly known as “bigots”.

God knows, we have our share of “Trumps” in
our part of the world, so why does Donald Trump get the honor of representing
all the racists in this article? First, he seems to have earned it because he
has made it all the way to the Oval Office after verbalizing without any
hesitation every racist remark that happened to cross his mind. Second, it is
not really far-fetched to use his name to refer to people like him since one of
the top ten words of the year 2016 in Collins dictionary is “Trumpism”, which
refers to the “policies advocated by him, and controversial or outrageous
statements attributed to him”. This is how ostentatious and indescribable his
campaign was to the extent that only his own name would be suitable to describe
it.

Finally, and more importantly, his campaign
arguably caused much more damage than any other racist actions have by
shattering decades of work toward tolerance and acceptance in the American
community. Obviously, Trump did not create those racists who support him, but
his presidential campaign provided a “legitimate” platform for bigots and hate
groups bringing even the most timid racists out of the “closet”.

Many American “Trumps” have already
translated their hatred into action through the reported sharp rise of hate
crimes against Latinos, African Americans, Muslims, Jews and Asians. According
to a study made by the Centre for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California
State University San Bernardino, in 2015 hate crimes against Muslims and Middle
Easterners or those who look like them was at its highest since the spike of
hate crimes following the 9/11 attacks.

Scholars and hate crime experts argue that
this is not only due to the recent terrorist attacks in the US and around the
world by Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS), but it was also the result of the
negative rhetoric mainly led by Donald Trump, which entices hate and fear. In
some incidents, Trump was even quoted, as the attackers were unsurprisingly
some of his supporters.

Correspondingly, 2015 also witnessed a 14
percent increase in the number of people joining white supremacist radical
groups in the US, such as the Ku Klux Klan, according to a study made by the
Southern Poverty Law Center. According to this study, this is alarming partly
because white supremacists have killed more people in the US than Muslim
terrorists have over the last 14 years.

These groups usually consist of angry,
middle-class white people who are less educated and constitute most of Trump
supporters. Although they are not the majority, their voice has been
legitimized by Trump and as a result the America that many of us once knew and
fell in love with will not be the same for a very long time.

The “Trumps” of the world are blinded by
their insecurity, fear and ignorance thinking that living in isolation will
keep them safe and protect their own way of life in a world where diversity and
multiculturalism has become the norm. However, this is only making the world
more dangerous and a darker place for everyone including themselves.

Peace and development occur when we believe
in the goodness of human nature and try to understand it and appreciate it with
all its diverse forms and backgrounds by seeking knowledge and initiating
dialogue with the “other”, which can lead to the understanding and the
acceptance necessary for harmonious coexistence.